When you think of which state has the closest demographics to the entire nation, which state do you think of?  If you were anything like us, Michigan wasn't mentioned.

With the upcoming census and election, WalletHub.com put together a list of which states best represent America as a whole and Michigan came in at #3 on the list.

In addition to Michigan landing at the #3 spot on the list overall, here are some more key items where Michigan is almost identical in demographic to the nation as a whole:

  • In terms of gender, Michigan ranked #2 when compared to America's gender statistics,
  • Michigan also ranks #2 in terms of the composition of religious affiliation as compared to the U.S.
  • And Michigan's view on same-sex marriage is almost identical to the nation's views on the subject.

Now, let's take a look at the overall rankings.

The 5 States That Most Closely Resemble the U.S.

  1. Illinois - 94.8% Match
  2. Florida - 93.71% Match
  3. Michigan - 93.37% Match
  4. Arizona - 92.35% Match
  5. Ohio - 92.08% Match

The 5 States That Least Closely Resemble the U.S.

  1. Vermont - 77.12% Match
  2. Mississippi - 77.69%
  3. Utah - 78.32% Match
  4. West Virginia - 79.94% Match
  5. Massachusetts - 80.19% Match

You can check out all of the rankings below on the interactive map or checkout the full list at WalletHub.com.

Source: WalletHub

The survey by WalletHub used 5 key dimensions to determine it's rankings: 1) Sociodemographics, 2) Economy, 3) Education, 4) Religion, and 5) Public Opinion.  Each of these key dimensions were further broken down into dozens of metrics.  You can check out the methodology they used here.

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